U.S. Open Tennis Tips from the Bryan Brothers

The U.S. Open is back in town, and we’ve officially caught tennis fever! At this year’s final Grand Slam event, Serena Williams will try to defend her title, Roger Federer looks to overcome his worst season in a decade and Rafael Nadal, who was out with a knee injury from July 2012 to February of this year, will see if he’s fully recovered.

Another story to watch? Twin brothers Mike Bryan and Bob Bryan will attempt to be the first pair since 1951 to win all four grand slams (the Australian, French, Wimbledon and U.S. Opens) in one calendar year. We caught up with the Bryan Brothers, 35, at the New York City pop-up Prince store right before opening day. Here’s what Bob Bryan had to say about how he and his brother stay fit and sane as professional athletes.

How often do you train?

We train six days a week.

Do you get any days off?

We try to take one day off, but it doesn’t always happen when we’re playing tournaments. When we were growing up, we always took Mondays off.

When you aren’t on the court, what kind of workouts do you do and how do you stay healthy?

Photo by Prince Sports

When we’re in the gym we do a lot of core work, a lot of leg exercises, and use bands for the upper body. We eat pretty healthy — we both go gluten-free and make sure to get the right supplements.

What’s your favorite type of workout?

My perfect day would be an hour-and-a-half on the court and an hour-and-a-half in the gym. I like to do 30 minutes on the bike, a nice ab routine and a circuit for strengthening the legs. Mike’s the real gym freak, though.

You’re pretty busy guys. What keeps you motivated when you’re constantly playing and on the go?

We’re pretty honest with each other and we let each other know when we think the other guy is slipping. We don’t hold back and we hate losing. When we do lose, we’ll ride each other on the plane flights home saying everything in the books. Losses hurt more than the wins feel good, so it’s just about working hard so you can stay out of the loss column as much as possible.

To learn more about the Bryan brothers, follow Bob and Mike on Twitter. And to hear more about the U.S. Open, check out the event schedule.